June 16, 2013

Welcome
back to part three of my Interview with Self-Publishing Author Ben Galley about
his fantasy series Emaneska. This time we will talk more about his latest books
– the final two in the Emaneska Series. Part 1 / Part 2

Hi
Ben and welcome back. We will get right back into the world of Emaneska. What
are the last two books in the series called and could you explain to us in 20
words what they’re about?

Well
you took the 20 words really seriously. A longer sentence would have done it
too, but I like it that way.Which kind of reader do you think will enjoy your dark, poetic and
emotional deep book?

The
Emaneska Series is primarily aimed at readers who enjoy dark or epic fantasy,
but I also wrote it for other readers too. I tried to sneak in a few genres
into the mix, such as crime, thriller, mystery, and adventure. I tried to keep
it fast-paced too. Although books like Lord
of the Rings were a huge inspiration for me, many potential fans can be put
off by the thought of 20-page long Elven songs and unpronounceable first names.
I tried to keep my world sharp and straight to the point, so that it can be
tackled by the well-entrenched fantasy fan, and also the fantasy newbie too.
The mythology is there for the reader to delve into at their leisure.

You
try to use material of many genres. What influenced or inspired you to write
the story especially?

What made me write the Emaneska
Series in particular was a culmination of two factors. The first was that I had
begun to read again, and read voraciously. I had fallen out of habit during my
college and Uni years, and so the rediscovery of writing came hand in hand with
a rediscovery of my love of fantasy and dark fiction. Neil Gaiman. Tolkien.
Martin. Abercrombie. I inhaled it all. It was then that I also began to feel
the itch of wanting to write again, something I had done all through my
childhood. The other factor of inspiration was that at the time I was working a
number of dead-end, meaningless jobs that I desperately wanted to escape. It
was that desire for a new direction and the achievement of that ubiquitous
childhood dream of being an author. That was why I spent 18 months using every
available moment to write The
Written.

Why
did you choose especially this title? Was it your first choice? Somehow I have
the feeling that Emaneska has a deeper meaning.

Clichéd, once again, but the
title Emaneska literally coalesced from thin air. I knew I wanted a Nordic
theme, and as soon as I said it I knew it would be both the world and the name
of the Series. It just rolled off my tongue.

What
was the hardest part for you working on your book, especially because you
aren’t a full time writer yet.

The hardest point was trying to
work through the writing process. My jobs at the time were menial and
depressing, but that in itself spurred me on in a strange, inspiring way. Due
to my busy schedule, and the nature of such jobs - bar work, restaurant
work, being a kitchen lackey, or serving pasties in a cold train station to
rude commuters - I had to write most The
Written on my mobile phone between customers and on my days off. It
was tough, but like I said, my desire for an escape kept my chin up.

Was
there a scene that you didn’t want to add or removed later in your finished
work?

Strangely - no. Thanks to
being self-published, I get to define the length and content of my books
myself. With The Written, all I had
to do was concentrate on how best to tell the story. For me, that process was
more about enriching and fleshing out the story, whilst stripping out
unnecessary sentences. I didn’t remove any whole sections or scenes. In fact, I
added quite a few! With Pale Kings and
Dead Stars 1 and 2, there was more
cutting and editing, but still I managed to keep the bulk of what I wanted in
there.

I’m
surprised to meet another writer who puts everything in his book that he
thought of before. Do you already know what to do next?

Surprisingly, I know exactly what
I’m up to next. The Emaneska Series might have finished, but the story hasn’t.
I will be doing a few standalones and messing around with a few sub-genres of
fantasy. Then I may have to revisit Emaneska. I’ve already got another series
in mind… Here’s a bit of an exclusive
– it will be called the Scalussen Chronicles.

Watch out for Ben Galleys guestpost regarding the creation of the World of Emaneska next week! The final and last post about his magnificent fantasy series.

Dead Stars Part One (Emaneska
Series #3)

The
sky is falling.

The
world trembles beneath it.

Emaneska
is crying out for a saviour.

Somebody
is hunting down the Written in the wilds. Murdering and skinning them alive.
Who? A mere girl. A girl who was born to rip the stars from the sky and bring
them crashing down to earth. The direst enemy Emaneska has ever faced.

In
the wake of the Battle of Krauslung, the world has changed. For the darker. For
the stranger. Magick swells like a storm, spilling from the stunned lips of
farmboys and milkmaids, burning spell books to cinders at the lightest of
touches.

As
Krauslung unknowingly balances on a knife-edge, tension mounts. Insidious
whispers have begun to spread, drawing new enemies to the surface. Discontent,
fear, betrayal… it seems that the girl is not the only enemy Emaneska must
face.

Who
can stand in their way? Will it be a pair of struggling Arkmages, one blind,
one Written An Albion maid, on the cusp of her wedding day? Three shadows of
gods? Or will it be a ghost, a bloody rumour, lost in a dark world of murder
and bitter memories?

One
question above all lingers on their lips:

Where
in Emaneska is Farden?

Dead Stars Part Two (Emaneska
Series #4)

North,
is where the battle will take place.

North,
is where Farden must go.

But
to death, to glory, or to both?

The
Arka have chosen their champion, and now he must lead them to the top of the
world - The Spine, where the black mountains belch fire, and where the battle
against cataclysm will take place upon the ice.

As
they travel north in a warship clad in iron, the Krauslung they leave behind is
crumbling. Not under the onslaught of the girl and her daemons, but from
within, under the force of greed and poisonous ambition. It seems there are too
many battles to fight.

Now,
with the Sirens silent, the frozen north in uproar, and the responsibility
mounting, Emaneska’s champion must face a choice.

Can
he tread the tunnels of Hel to save the world? To save a woman more ghost than
alive? To claim the armour he has always longed for?

For
salvation lies in the hands of a Knight fifteen-hundred years dead, and in the
red-gold armour of a certain mage.